The Egyptian Government has announced that in cooperation with Microsoft Corporation it is launching an e-government initiative designed to deliver the technical infrastructure critical for the provision of enhanced government services and intra-government collaboration.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corporation said in a press release that “this e-government initiative confirms the commitment of the Egyptian government to embrace the .NET revolution by using the technology to deliver new and better quality services to the public. This will not only facilitate effective communication between government departments, but will improve broader Internet use as this will act as a major inducement to the whole Egyptian community to get online."

The announcement of this initiative comes after the signing of a cooperation agreement in Washington DC between the Egyptian Government represented by Ahmed Nazif, minister of Communication and Information Technology and Jean-Philippe Courtois, President - Microsoft EMEA during the US Chamber of Commerce Lunch Reception on the honor of The Egyptian President who is visiting the US to meet with The American President.

Nazif, pointed out the objective of this e-government as an “initiative to provide simpler and faster methods to fulfill standard citizens' requests from various government services' bodies.”

According to Nazif, this step will also provide the framework to support intra-government collaboration for more timely and accurate information needed to facilitate decision-making.

“We are very pleased to have secured the cooperation of Microsoft Corp. in this program working alongside our teams of professionals to help bring in a global perspective."

Microsoft will be providing consulting services to support the Egyptian e-government initiatives throughout the agreement. "Microsoft is committed to support the Government's plan to advance Egypt's progress in the digital economy. The Egyptian e-government team will have access to Microsoft specialists across the world, providing technical support, management feedback and knowledge sharing," said Jean-Philippe Courtois, President - Microsoft EMEA.

"The agreement stems from our desire to effectively adopt the latest technologies within a framework that insures professional implementation by Egyptian talents, leveraging the expertise of the number one software company in the world as well as complying with copyright laws and International treaties," said Nazif – Albawaba.com